Wow, China. Just...wow.

So, I heard about this over at Pajiba. It appears that China's thought police State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television have banned time travel as a subject for television and film plots because "the producers and writers are treating the history in a frivolous way, which should by no means be encouraged anymore." Richard Brody at The New Yorker's The Front Row points out the potential for time travel fare to non-frivolous, and the importance of "the free play of the imagination" as a sign of political freedom -- exactly the sort of thing this regime does not allow. Pajiba, in addition to mocking the agency's complaint that "many stories are totally made up," Steven Lloyd Wilson at Pajiba focuses on the connection between time travel, memory, and the dictator's illusion of an unchanging present, in which they are the constant. Both interesting responses.

For my part, I hope some young geek in China is seeing this as the final straw, and planning the best rebellion ever. I hope that when that dictatorship falls, everyone will be wearing their forbidden geek emblem of choice (the one at the Pajiba site rocks pretty hard). Until then, stay strong Chinese time travelers. The past is not forgotten, and the future is yours.